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They should come out with a limited run of CTS Sixteens then. I'm guessing/hoping the ATS line will be rwd. I'm surprised it has taken this long for Caddy to have another convertible. I'm sure by now they won't make the same mistakes they did with the Allante and XLR.
I do like wagons, but really there aren't too many I'd add to the stable. The ones I would want would be a real Woody, Nomad, hearse, and maybe the right 50s era hardtop. A Firebird or Vette wagon would be cool, but again I'd much rather a vert or coupe.
The ATS is going to ride on the new Alpha RWD platform. A stretched version of Alpha will aslo underpin the next CTS. Alpha is also slated to replace Zeta in the Camaro, which is a real positive as Alpha is slotted to weigh a lot less than the current Zeta car. Rumor is the Camaro will ring in at 3,300-3,400 pounds on Alpha.
My point about not being about what people wanted, was really directed at the time frame of the original introduction of the standards back in the 70's. Since that time, marketing to a large extent has made the wagon "uncool" because automakers didn't want to build them since they couldn't easily accomodate large wagons within the standards for the car fleet. Suddenly all the commercials were about families driving minivans and then SUV's.
If anything with the changing standards and rising fuel prices, I actually see the possibility for a wagon resurgence. In fact, there sort of already is one going on as a large number of "crossovers" are decidedly wagonesque.
I don't consider crossovers to be "wagonesque", I think they are "SUVesque". But I do sense a little bit of a comeback too, at least I feel like I am seeing more true wagons on the road today than I did a few years ago, although they are mostly European vehicles. Interestingly, the CAFE standard probably drove the exact opposite of what it was meant to achieve. Instead of comparatively fuel efficient wagons, it drove the automakers to build large SUVs to accommodate families with needs for lots of space, which actually made overall fleet fuel efficiency worst.
For real wagons (not CUVs), fuel efficiency also really isn't any different than the sedan counterpart. Take the difference in mpg between an Audi A4/A6 sedan and wagon or between a BMW 3/5 series sedan and wagon. With the same engines and configuration, they have the same mpg or differ by only 1 mpg.
I don't consider crossovers to be "wagonesque", I think they are "SUVesque". But I do sense a little bit of a comeback too, at least I feel like I am seeing more true wagons on the road today than I did a few years ago, although they are mostly European vehicles. Interestingly, the CAFE standard probably drove the exact opposite of what it was meant to achieve. Instead of comparatively fuel efficient wagons, it drove the automakers to build large SUVs to accommodate families with needs for lots of space, which actually made overall fleet fuel efficiency worst.
For real wagons (not CUVs), fuel efficiency also really isn't any different than the sedan counterpart. Take the difference in mpg between an Audi A4/A6 sedan and wagon or between a BMW 3/5 series sedan and wagon. With the same engines and configuration, they have the same mpg or differ by only 1 mpg.
You are absolutely right. Over the term of the old CAFE era, national fuel economy actually decreased, especially during the SUV boom years of the mid-90's to mid-00's.
They should come out with a limited run of CTS Sixteens then.
What would that be? The Sixteen was the show car flagship. It would not make sense to produce a product that mixes that with their bread and butter car.
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I'm guessing/hoping the ATS line will be rwd.
Yes.
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I'm surprised it has taken this long for Caddy to have another convertible. I'm sure by now they won't make the same mistakes they did with the Allante and XLR.
The ATS convertible will be considerably down market from the XLR. Like less then half the price. It is just as hotly contested a market because there's only one clear winner - the BMW 3 series. No one else comes close to selling as many convertibles in that range as they do. So its not something you just rush in to half cocked. The XLR was a decent vehicle but decent isn't enough to topple the juggernaut in that segment, which is the Mercedes SL - again, no one else comes close to selling as many convertibles in that segment as they do.
Yeah that's true even though the CTS seems to be most popular. Regardless a limited run of Sixteens would be real cool.
I knew the ATS vert wouldn't be near the XLR especially since the XLR's price was beyond itself. XLR pricing was close to Vipers, ZR1s, GT40s too and Caddy was still in the process of revitalizing its image in the luxury car market. I don't even think an XLR would do much better now or anytime soon as two seaters aren't selling as well nowadays.
One of my ultimate dream cars is a black Buick Roadmaster wagon...
Pref. with a built LS6...
Also, the Nissan Stagea, which was never sold here... uses the RWD Laurel chassis which itself is related to the Skyline, so while most were shipped with the naturally-aspirated RB25DE 2.5 inline six, you could easily swap in the turboed version, or better yet, the RB26DETT out of the Skyline GTR! If you'd purchased one with AWD, then you more or less have a Skyline GTR wagon.
The later Stagea uses the same chassis as the Skyline, sold as the Infiniti G35 over here:
A Roadmaster Estate woody would be a preferable big family car. Definitely over a SUV. As far as one being blacked out, I'd much rather an Impala SS clone on a Caprice wagon.
A Roadmaster Estate woody would be a preferable big family car. Definitely over a SUV. As far as one being blacked out, I'd much rather an Impala SS clone on a Caprice wagon.
yeah a early to mid 90's impala SS clone wagon with a corvette sourced LT-1 would be pretty decent as the family hauler
A Roadmaster Estate woody would be a preferable big family car. Definitely over a SUV. As far as one being blacked out, I'd much rather an Impala SS clone on a Caprice wagon.
Did you guys see the Top Gear America episode with the Roadmaster in it? They did a rendering of a mock 2011 version of the Roadmaster. Now that is a Buick I'd definitely be interested in.
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